viability of use as 3d printer controler

Hi am frustrated with the basic (rumba) controller for a conventional 3D printer, I happen to have a full linuxcnc setup with mesa cards etc that is not being used for anything. i need to decide if I should go dig it out of my storage unit or not. I see that it has been done and It looks like Sli3r etc is setup now to produce gcode for linuxcnc. I don't have any special demands on the controller, I just want a robust system that will control the printer without crazy problems like uncontrolled heating etc . Does anyone know if I easily control the hotend temperature and extruder from linuxcnc or are those details still requiring a good bit of messing around. I am not looking for a science project and will at some point get back to my cnc lathe project which this equipment is well suited. Would it be best to just get a better 3d printer controller such as a smoothieboard or is Linuxcnc a viable option.

thanks

Luke

(I don't know anthing about 3-d printers)
I would think that if you have good feed back of the temperature, you should be able to achieve very good regulation of it with Linuxcnc. It's all going to depend on your hardware. If you don't have good documentation, or intimate knowledge of how your hardware functions, it will be a science project though.